Organising housing and car
 

Hi,

I will be relocating to the USA end of June, currently going through a L1 visa process, its exciting and also worrying at the same time. Work has been helpful with VISA and things and a good relocation package but thats where it ends.
I have been looking at rentals on zillow but alot of them are asking for things like SSN and a credit score, neither of which I will have, I know the SSN will come within 2 weeks, any advice on how to approach renting a house would be fantastic.
The other thing I have been looking at is cars, I have spoken to expat ride and international autolease, the second seems to be more favourable on price but was wondering if I should be talking to dealers directly? Is it worth the hassle?
Any other pointers or advice is more than welcome.

Re: Organising housing and car
 

Most rentals require a credit score before proceeding. They need your SSN to access that, but when you do receive your SSN, you will have zero credit (in the USA) so that won’t help you for at least a year until you build up credit. Your UK score will generally be of no use because it’s a different system and few will be able or willing to make the effort to understand it. What can you do:

1. Google corporate rentals in your area. Those are fully furnished apartments, equipped with everything you need. Expensive but likely you are going to need everything for the first few months at least. You can usually rent very short, medium or long term. They are not usually on Zillow that is why you should do a Google Search.

2. Look on Airbnb/VRBO. There are frequently fully furnished rentals that are available for a short to medium rental, at a decent cost. Less expensive than a corporate rental but more expensive than a regular apartment or house. Again, convenient when starting out.

If you are prepared to furnish everything immediately (and note that when renting a house although a cooktop, oven and dishwasher is almost always supplied some rentals require that you provide your own fridge and/or microwave; apartments usually supply everything)

3. You could ask your company to co-sign on the lease for a regular rental for 6 months to a year. Most rentals will be happy with a credit worthy co-signor.

4. You could offer to put down a larger deposit and/or pay up to 6 months upfront.

5. Get a copy of your U.K. credit report, and offer that as supporting documentation. Most landlords though will want to run their own version of your credit report though because it is too easy to fake one.

Private landlords (individuals with one or a few properties) will be more likely to work with you than a large company or apartment complex. Corporate Rentals being the exception because assuming you are in a decent sized area they should be familiar with folks in your situation. Approach a couple of regular apartment complexes though and explain your situation. If in a bigger city they may have alternate solutions, Also, talk to other co-workers, hopefully you are not the first to be in this situation.

With regard to a car. If you can pay cash then it is definitively worth talking to dealers directly. My brother in law bought a car online before he even arrived. Process went very smoothly, and he was driving his own car (Honda) with insurance in the first week (on a UK license which was allowed for a short time). If you need a loan then again the lack of a credit score will be a challenge with most dealers so then likely best to go with one of the specialized services. Look at Geico for insurance. They usually offer excellent rates for new arrivals, way better than most other companies, but be aware that car insurance will be very high for the first few years, and even after that will be higher than you are used to in the UK. Depending upon the car and area I would ball park $2,000 for the first year. More if in one of the larger NE cities.

Re: Organising housing and car
 

One other VERY important tip. Make sure you understand the taxation and reporting requirement of foreign financial accounts. That will include just about everything you own except property and collectibles, and will include cash accounts, all financial accounts of any kind (including ISAs, funds of any kind, pensions, life insurance and others). There are severe penalties for failing to report as required and/or failing to pay the appropriate tax. Even ISAs are taxable in the US. UK investment funds of all types (such as ETFs, Index Funds, OEICs, Investment Trusts, etc) are identified as PFICs, have onerous reporting requirements and are taxed at punitive rates, far higher than normal capital gains.

Google FBAR, FATCA and Form 8938, and PFIC investments if you are not familiar with these regulations. If you do have PFICs then address the issue before you move. That generally means selling them. Much easier to manage the situation before you arrive. The day you arrive you lose most of your options to do so. Feel free to ask more questions if this is applicable and you need more imformation.

Re: Organising housing and car
 

You should ask your company to co-sign a lease with you and/or ask HR to assist in finding accommodation close to where you will work.
When I moved to the US my company provided 2 months of temporary accommodation in my relocation package. Others have had the same.
Too late to ask company to do this...?

Re: Organising housing and car
 

Thanks for all the awesome advice, it really is appreciated. Work are giving me 20k relocation to do with as I need. I will ask about the co-signing option though.

Re: Organising housing and car
 

Remember that this will likely be considered taxable income unless your employer has agreed to gross it up, thus effectively paying any tax due.

Re: Organising housing and car
 

I never thought of that, I will ask the question about tax in the relocation money

Re: Organising housing and car
 

Since you are taking about a car I will assume you’re not moving to NYC. I moved there on an L1a back in 2010, and renting an apartment wasn’t easy. One place wanted 12 months rent up front, which was fine, but would not show me the LLC financials, none would take my employer as a corporate guarantor, only wanted an individual, so I ended up doing a 3 month rental, and then wand able to extend it. I hit my GC a year later and was able to build my credit easily and brought an apartment and leased a car a year later.

Re: Organising housing and car
 

No im not moving to NYC, As I will be mainly a remote worker I am looking at a few options but the family really want the Florida sun

Re: Organising housing and car
 

Are you getting anything else on top of that? As above, definitely make sure it will be grossed up or you'll lose a good chunk of it.

Whether you can get a rental before you move or straight away will depend on the market of where you're moving to. It's crazy hot where I am (Boston), and we had no chance. We applied for 20+ houses and were rejected from each as landlords could pick and choose, and they just would pick people in the US, with US credit history, and US employment history. Even if we offered over the asking price we stood no chance. Our housing was being paid for by my husband's company (major American co) but even with that as backing we weren't considered. We ended up finding our rental on Facebook which I wouldn't normally recommend but worked for us! I posted on a local group and our landlady got in touch, and then by the time the property launched we'd already exchanged lots of messages and thankfully she picked us out of all the applicants. I think it helped that she was an expat herself a decade before, so she understood how tough it was.

We got our car via VW's expat scheme. It was cheaper than IA by quite some way.

Best of luck.

Re: Organising housing and car
 

i love Florida, politics and all. Spend about a month there every year in the late Spring, when the weather is at its best. With that said, i could not live there year round. The summer is brutally hot and humid with many associated bugs, and huge a/c bills. Plenty of hurricane threats in the fall. That, plus the overwhelming tourist vibe and predominance of older residents all over the state would become quite tiresome over time. As many advise going on holiday is one thing, living there is another.

Almost anywhere in the US is mega sunny and dry compared to the UK, outside of Alaska, the Pacific NW and the New England area. I would at least consider other states, particularly those with four seasons. I lived in Texas for a couple of years and was surprised how much i missed Spring and Fall. The Carolina’s have wonderful weather, the odd hurricane to one side, mountains and beaches close by. Colorado has 300+ sunny days a year, unbelievable outdoor opportunities, magnificent scenery and activities, and reasonably well located for international and US travel. At least consider beyond Florida!

Re: Organising housing and car
 

If the expat schemes for car buying doesn't suit you, and you are looking for a new car with no credit history, you are going to find the interest rates can be very high. You could try buying an older used car with cash for the first year, and then use it as a trade in for the next car once your credit score has been building.

Re: Organising housing and car
 

Since then, NYC has banned large deposits too which can cause issues for those trying to rent as a new arrival.

Re: Organising housing and car
 

The last hurricane to hit the piedmont was in 1989. Stay away from the coast and the risk of hurricanes is negligible.

There _are_ "post tropical storms", which are plenty windy, and can dump 1" rain/ hr for 6-12 hours, :blink: (don't live near a river or stream!) and can bring down a tree here or there, but post tropical storms are not hurricanes.

Re: Organising housing and car
 

I was in Asheville last week and there's still a lot of damage from the last big storm..
It's a beautiful part of the world, and worth considering if you can choose anywhere.
Colorado is great, but getting a bit expensive these days. However, the skiing is great if you like that sort of thing.